Heat mat question

[Guest Lucinda]

I recently started germinating palm seeds on six 44" heat mats and noticed a startling jump in my electric bill this month. Almost double the number of KWs per day when compared to this time last year.

No question: The seeds are germinating like crazy-- in fact, some seedlings are now pushing the lids off the containers they're growing in. All this in a month!

However, there is that troubling electric bill.

My question: Would germination/growth rate be just as successful if the mats were turned off for part of the day (night)?

Or should I just continue my contribution to global warming by letting the mats run constantly.

Input from other heat mat users would be greatly appreciated.

[Phil]

Lucinda,

I can't comment on intermittent use of the heating pads, but want to make an important comment.  Please be aware of the fire risk.  There have now been many cases of fire with these mats, especially as they age.  I heard of one instance where someone burned down his entire house.  Other forms of bottom heat are much safer and more economical in the long run.  If you do stick with the mats, throw them away after two to three years even if they still look good.

Phil

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Woah, never heard of that Phil...

Lucinda I use heat mats...  I keep them thermostatically controlled and plugged in all the time...  Usually with ultra-tropical species or seeds that prefer a great deal of heat to germinate...

[Guest Lucinda]

Thank you for the warning. I had no idea these were dangerous. They are sold as being safe (as opposed to make-shift items such as heating pads). I'm not using thermostats; just allowing the mats to reach 10-15 degrees F above ambient room temp. Does that make a difference?

What other methods are safe?

????

[Kris]

(Lucinda @ Dec. 20 2007,09:18)

QUOTE

What other methods are safe ?

Dear Lucinda  

my climte here in india is burning hot and very high in humidity

and have the coastal climate imfluence and i just keep the baggie bags in a dark & warm room.

And as phil said the heat mats are to be used with caution,around 8 months back there was a similar article as this the entire forum memebrs have intracted with their experience ans most accept to the fact that they are dangerous as they old & if not used with a proper working thermostat..

here are few pictures of my germination technick..

[Kris]

. .

[Kris]

Our average temperatures are around 78 to 106 farenheat through out the year..

here is a temperature guage place in that germination room..

[Creekside]

Does anyone know exactly what part causes the fires?  I keep my mats on fire-safe boards, but the thermostat is screwed onto a nearby wooden post.  I'd prefer not to burn my barn down.  I also use another method with success: put a #15 (or +) empty black pot upside-down in the sun, put baggies containing medium and seeds on the pot, cover with a smaller black upside-down pot.  Not exact enough for the tricky species, but the solar warming of the bigger pot warms the seeds quite nicely and I've had good success this way.

[Guest Lucinda]

Will, your setup looks impressive. As it always does. I have thermostats, but don't seem need them at the moment. House furnace isn't on (yet), so ambient temp is typically around 70-75.

Kris, your climate is perfect all by itself for germinating.  

All year round. I borrowed liberally from your very interesting thread on germinating ... but it works on West Coast Florida only beginning about April and lasting until about October.

I have written to the heat mat people just to hear what they have to say.

Meanwhile, though it will absolutely KILL me, I'll toss the mats after two years.

My son has volunteered to set up a hot water solar system with piping running through sand. Maybe he'll be able to do this about when it's time to throw the mats away.

Or I'll have so many palms growing that germinating more seeds would be a ridiculous excess.

[Kris]

Dear Catherine Presley  

Hey your method is really new & inovative to me,i have lots of terracota pots to try your method during our winters,since in summers it will have catastrofic effect due to excess hot weather...i will post the results of that method..

And by the way heat mat has to be used with some degree of caution and when going out on week ends,its safe to switch it off than take risk with it.

Love,

Kris  

[Alicehunter2000]

I am currently using a reptile heat pad that is stuck to the bottom of an aquarium. The seeds are in baggies. I will let you know if this method works in a couple of months.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I also emply a solar compot method...  Compots a la plasteec!

[Kris]

Dear William  

keep us posted about your methods success,it seems simple and needs no electricity and free from fire accidents...!

love,

Kris  

[freakypalmguy]

This is the heat mat that I use. It is a 48"x20" mat that will raise the temp 10 to 20F above the ambient temperature. I bought it from Park Seed. I leave it on all the time right now as it has been pretty cold here. In the warmer months I pug it into a normal houshold timer that turns it on in the early evening and off again in the morning. I will follow the advice to only use this mat for 3 years also. Hopefully by then I'll have a greenhouse and will start my seeds there.

[FRITO]

a few years ago when getting into plant (cactus at the time) I had a water bed heater mat I used. worked fine until it melted and shorted out... dangerous and don't use heating mats anymore because I value my house and other things also.

Im a single guy and naturally dont bake a whole lot in my electric home oven....I use the smaller toaster oven for other quick meals.  Therefor I have a nice place in the oven to germinate seeds. It is designed to keep in heat. with the use of a 30 watt light bulb as the oven light(you can get and energy saving type also) it keeps the oven at am ambient temp of 85.1 in the middle of the oven. a 60 watt bulb got me to 103 degrees. and a 16 watt energy saver would keep me right at 80 or so.

the top shelf is naturally hotter and the bottom is a bit cooler.

works great for me.

im trying a new technique by directly sowing into deep seed trays. keeping in the humidty with a plastic bag.

PS: the USPS priority mail boxes bring good luck when germinating. Just simply slide a box under your germinating pots as me and William do for great results, HAHA. :laugh:

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Too Funny!  :laugh:

[oppalm]

Heres a picture of my very simple seed starting aquarium.   Although you could use any large container to hold the heat.    The lights are very simple and very cheap mini Christmas lights.  They provide the perfect amount of heat in this 20 gallon high tank.  BONUS - they are cheap cheap cheap to run, maybe a few pennies a day.    

[www.dadluvsu.com]

(Lucinda @ Dec. 20 2007,10:25)

QUOTE

Or I'll have so many palms growing that germinating more seeds would be a ridiculous excess.

As if you'll be able to stop...  

[Carlo Morici]

I see the most common mistake is to switch wamth always on at night and always off during the day. This can lead to warm nights and cold days and this can cause problems once seeds are sprouted and seedlings have leaves.

Also think when do your seeds need warmth? Lowland species need stable day/night temperatures but high elevation palms like day changes. For them it is often enough to give warmth just around midday. They can be placed outdoors under plastic and if it warms up enough during the day, they will not mind coolish nights.

As for the electricity bill, you can lower it much by reducing escapes of warmth from the system. Put isolating materials below the mat and as much as you can around the germination box, use double layered methacrylate or bubble wrap instead of plain plastic above.

Carlo

[Carlo Morici]

Hey,  this is fantastic! And it works!

Very appropriate for Christmas.

(oppalm @ Dec. 20 2007,19:01)

QUOTE

[Guest Lucinda]

The owner of the company where I bought my heat mats responded to my question about their safety:

"Hi Lucinda,

Well, this is the first I've heard of any fire hazard from heat mats but it doesn't suprise me much.  The advice from the west coast grower may not be bad advice.  I know that the little timers that we use to run all of our lights are supposed to be replaced every year or so also.  I think that if you are very careful with the mats, and know that they haven't been abused in any way, then they should pose no fire hazard.  It would probably be a frayed or cracked cord, or an abused mat that would cause problems.  All of this being said, I've been using the same 48" mat for about 6 or 7 years now.  I will check it over good though, now that you've brought this point to my attention!

Happy Holidays to you!

Jay / Growco

1-877-939-6900

http://www.4hydroponics.com"

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I guess anything can degrade, but I still struggle to see how these things can be anymore dangerous than a toaster, computer, or alarm clock...  I'm sure there have been accidents or unusual cirmcumstances that have led to hazardous usage.

Other than when I used them in my aquarium germinator, these mats are used in a dry environment and laid flat...  And so long as they remain used in such a manner (dry and level), I can't see how they can be any more dangerous than any other electrical device...

[Cycadcenter]

We always run our heat mats through a GFI circut,  This was after I was down in the greenhouse watering and felt a little tingling feeling in my fingers.  

As Phill says,  just be real careful of them in a greenhouse environment.

Actually the best system we ever had was a Delta tube heated water system which heated a 6' x 60' bench but it was quite expensive at about $300-$400 per month using a water heater.  

Bruce